Understanding FNB Fox Valley’s ReadyBuyer Pre-Approval Program

As we discussed in our recent blog post, “Top 4 Reasons for Getting a Preapproved Mortgage,” there are several advantages to getting preapproved for your mortgage. At FNB Fox Valley, we’ve made the pre-approval process even easier with our ReadyBuyer Pre-Approval Program. In order to help you get a better understanding of the program and how it works, we’ve broken it down, and answered some of your most commonly asked questions:

What is the ReadyBuyer Program?

Our ReadyBuyer Program is a market advantage pre-approval that will demonstrate to real estate agents and home sellers that you have taken the necessary steps to confidently move forward with your home purchase process.

How is it different from being prequalified?

Though the two terms “prequalified” and “preapproved” sound familiar, there are some distinct differences between them. To become prequalified, you provide a lender with your financial information (i.e. income, debt, assets, etc.) so that they can determine the mortgage amount for which you qualify. However, with a pre-qualification, this information you provide doesn’t need to be verified yet. This makes the procedure quicker, but leaves homebuyers with more of an educated guess than an accurate appraisal.

With the ReadyBuyer Pre-Approval Program, a lender analyzes and verifies your financial information, including your credit rating. After completing an extensive check to validate your information, your lender will provide you with an exact loan amount for you to use to search for homes at or below that price range. From here, you can place a bid with confidence, as your mortgage practically guaranteed to be approved upon the purchase of the house (barring any unusual circumstances).

What are the advantages of a preapproved mortgage?

There are several distinct advantages of participating in our ReadyBuyer Program. In fact, a preapproved mortgage can help you:

- Demonstrate to real estate agents and home sellers that you are a serious buyer

- Confidently enter the real estate market knowing your price range

- Gain a competitive edge over other buyers who aren’t approved

- Address any financing problems early in the home buying process

- Become more aware of estimated costs

- Save time searching for a home, getting you into your new home more quickly

How does the process work?

The ReadyBuyer Program works using a 4-stage process that’s completely focused on filling the unique needs of each individual in the program.

The process starts when you fill out an application. From here, one of our lending experts will look over your application to gain a better understanding of your goals, the timeframe in which you’d like to meet them, and what financial resources you have available to reach them.

Once our experts have all the necessary financial information, they will begin to analyze your credit report to help determine the income you’ll have available to repay your loan. Here, we’ll uncover any financial issues that could cause problems moving forward, as well as determine your buying range, and programs that you may qualify for.

After analyzing your finances, our mortgage bankers will help counsel you by explaining the advantages and disadvantages of any programs that you may qualify for. To help select the best possible plan for you, we take a look price ranges, real estate taxes, and private mortgage insurance. We’ll even discuss the costs associated with purchasing a home that fall outside the down payment (i.e. closing costs, escrow deposits, homeowners insurance, inspections, etc.).

Once you’ve completed your counseling session, we’ll be ready to issue you a preapproved mortgage from our ReadyBuyer Program. From here, you’ll have 90 days to find a home before your pre-approval expires. However, once you have accepted an offer, FNB will start the official purchase process, which will be more streamlined thanks to the pre-approval work that’s already been done!

For more information about the ReadyBuyer Program, contact the mortgage banking experts at your local FNB branch today!